Policies and Standards


From the ITGS

Policies are regulations, laws or contractual obligations that promote the appropriate use of technology. Policies are enforcable measures intended to promote appropriate use. They can be developed by governments, businesses and private groups or individuals.
They normally consist of rules governing access to, or use of, information, hardware and software.
For example: a national policy on IT security would need to define what constitutes unlawful access to networks and how to treat transgression.
Policies also affect the exchange of information. For example: making information subject to copyright laws.
In general policies can promote or restrict access, modify behaviour or require the fulfillment of certain conditions prior to or during use.

Standards are social or technical rules that systems must have in place to run efficiently. They might govern the design and use of hardware, software and information. For example, communication protocols used on the Internet, the ASCII representation for characters, or the design of the printer port on a personal computer are all governmed by standards.

Task 1

Find out what the International Standards Organisation does.
Review the list of ISO standards and explore IT industry related standards

Task 2

Review acceptable use policies for the following:

Task 3

  • Find one other acceptable use agreement or policy
  • Post to your blog giving the URL and discuss:
    • Why the policy was created: stakeholders and situation
    • What the main issues are that the policy attempts to address

Task 4

  • Explore the standards and protocols for wireless networking. Start with How WiFi Works
  • Post a description to your blog including a comparison between the 802.11 network standards (write this in your own words)

Resources

Online Safety
Cyberbullying